Flexible layer one for radio interface to PLMN

ABSTRACT

Flexibly configurable layer one transport channels produce radio blocks in response to communication information and extract communication information from radio blocks. Each transport channel can include an encoder or a decoder coupled to and cooperable with a data puncturer or a data repeater. An information source can produce for each transport channel first configuration information and second configuration information, wherein the first configuration information is indicative of how the associated transport channel is to be configured if a first modulation type is used for a current radio block, and wherein the second configuration information is indicative of how the associated transport channel is to be configured if a second modulation type is used for the current radio block. The physical layer can include a description information source that provides description information from which various configurations of the transport channels can be determined. The description information source provides the description information in the physical layer in response to further information which the description information source receives from a higher layer and which is indicative of a service request initiated by a communication network.

[0001] This application claims the priority under 35 USC 119(e)(1) ofcopending U.S. provisional application No. 60/287,401, filed on May 1,2001 and incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates generally to the radio interface to a PLMNand, more particularly, to layer one of the radio interface and itsinteraction with higher layers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003]FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates a conventional example of aPLMN coupled to a mobile station (MS) 13 via a physical radio interface17. The PLMN includes a radio access network 11 coupled to a corenetwork 15. The core network 15 can be either a packet switched corenetwork or a circuit switched core network. The mobile station 13 (anytype of mobile radio transceiver) communicates with a base transceiverstation (BTS) of the radio access network 11 via the radio interface 17.The physical layer, also referred to as layer one or the PHY layer, ofthe mobile station 13 (and the physical layer of the corresponding BTSof the radio access network 11) is responsible for transmission of dataover the radio interface 17. On the transmitter side, layer one (L1)performs tasks including channel coding (error detecting and errorcorrecting), interleaving, burst formatting, modulation and radiotransmission. On the receiver side, layer one performs tasks includingradio reception, synchronization, channel estimation, demodulation(equalization), de-interleaving and channel decoding (error correctionand error detection).

[0004] Examples of the core network 15 include circuit switched orpacket switched GSM, and circuit switched or packet switched UMTS. Theradio access network 11 can be, for example, the GSM/EDGE radio accessnetwork (GERAN).

[0005] The PLMN of FIG. 1 is capable of providing a variety of servicesto its end users, each service having its own specific requirementsregarding error rates, delay, etc. In order to accommodate the requiredservices, the core network 15 requests from the radio access network 11bearer services that transport information between the mobile station 13and the edge of the core network 15. If the core network is a thirdgeneration (3G) core network, for example a UMTS network, the bearers(which provide the bearer services) are referred to as radio accessbearers or RABs. A request for an RAB from a 3G core network to theradio access network 11 is specified by a set of RAB parameters. The RABparameters contain a description of the information to be transferred,together with requirements on bit error rates, block error rates, delay,etc.

[0006] The RAB request contains information about the service to besupported by the call that is being set up, for example maximum bitrate, guaranteed bit rate, maximum payload size, maximum error rate,etc. The information in such an RAB request is typically independent ofthe type of radio access network 11. For example, the RAB request looksthe same whether the radio access network 11 is GERAN or UTRAN.

[0007] In conventional radio access networks such as GERAN or UTRAN,layer one of the radio interface provides transport channels whicheither transport information from higher layers to the actual physicalradio channel(s), or which transport information received from theactual physical radio channel(s) to the higher layers. Conventionally,these layer one (L1) transport channels are divided into two main types,optimized and generic.

[0008] With the optimized approach, the layer one transport channels areset up based on exact knowledge of the transported information blocksfor a particular service. This permits, for example, voice to betransported efficiently over the radio interface. The speech frames canbe unequally protected (UEP) and, just as important, unequal errordetection (UED) can be used.

[0009] In the generic approach, the layer one transport channels are setup without detailed knowledge of the service. Generic transport channelsuse equal error protection and detection. Padding and segmentation canbe used to handle variations in the payload size.

[0010] The optimized approach provides good spectrum efficiency forspeech, for example AMR (adaptive multi-rate), but the optimized channelapproach disadvantageously requires specific channels to be defined foreach service. On the other hand, although generic transport channels aremore flexible, they disadvantageously lead to poor radio interfaceperformance for certain services, for example speech services.

[0011] Conventional layer one transport channels are static in thefollowing aspects: the number of information bits to transfer per radioblock is fixed; the error detection scheme for each part of theinformation block is fixed; the error correction scheme (including codetype and rate) for each part of the information block is fixed; thepuncturing pattern is fixed; and the interleaving is fixed.

[0012] There are a number of conventional predefined layer one transportchannel schemes, for example optimized schemes that have been developedfor AMR, and generic schemes such as GPRS, EGPRS and ECSD. According toconventional operation, higher layers choose a set of these predefinedschemes depending on the service that is being supported.

[0013] As indicated above, the layer one transport channels generallyinterface between higher layers and the physical radio channel(s). Forexample, GERAN provides for radio transport via physical subchannels,where each physical subchannel is a sequence of GSM time slots that areallocated for the particular data transfer. A physical subchannel can beeither a full-rate (FR) channel or a half-rate (HR) channel. A set ofconsecutive GSM time slots on a physical subchannel, used for thetransfer of one block of data received from (or bound for) one or morelayer one transport channels, is called a radio block. In someconventional systems, for example those that utilize GPRS and EGPRS, aradio block consists of four GSM time slots.

[0014] One or more types of modulation can be available for use on agiven physical radio channel. For example, one or both of GMSKmodulation and 8-PSK modulation can be used on the aforementioned GERANphysical subchannels.

[0015] It can therefore be seen that the actual gross data rateavailable for a data transfer depends on the data rate associated withthe physical radio channel and the modulation used on the physical radiochannel. In the GERAN example, the data rate available for data transferdepends on whether the physical subchannel is full-rate or half-rate,and also depends on whether the modulation is GMSK, 8-PSK, or acombination thereof.

[0016] Some examples of conventional layer one transport channel schemesfor services defined in GERAN are described below.

[0017] The layer one transport channel schemes for AMR are examples ofoptimized schemes, i.e., they are tailor made to give the best possibleperformance for a particular speech codec. To provide transport of AMRspeech over the radio interface, a number of layer one transport channelschemes are defined. There are currently eight different speech codecmodes defined for AMR. For each of these eight modes, a layer onetransport channel scheme for transport over a full-rate physicalsubchannel with GMSK modulation is defined. Further, for six of themodes, layer one transport channel schemes are defined for transportwith GMSK on a half-rate physical subchannel.

[0018] The speech information is delivered to layer one in blocks (alsodenoted as speech frames) the size of which depends on the AMR mode. Onespeech frame is delivered every 20 ms. Below follows a description ofexemplary layer one transport channel processing for the AMR 12.2 modefor transport over a GMSK FR channel.

[0019] The speech frame delivered from the speech codec consists of 244speech bits and two inband bits (used for signalling). Of the speechbits, 81 are more important for the speech quality, and therefore moresensitive to errors (called class 1A bits). The remaining 163 bits areless sensitive (called class 1B bits). The speech bits are sorted bylayer one according to their importance, putting the class 1A bits firstand the class 1B bits after. Six CRC bits are added after the 81 class1A bits, giving 87 bits. The class 1B bits are put after the CRC bits.All these bits are then encoded together using a convolutional coderwith rate R=1/2. This results in an encoded block of 508 bits. Sixtyencoded bits in the latter part of the encoded block (corresponding tothe class 1B bits) are punctured (i.e., not transmitted). Effectively,this increases the code rate of the class 1B bits, giving them lessprotection. This results in a block of 448 bits. The 2 inband bits areencoded to 8 bits using a block code. The encoded inband bits are puttogether with the encoded speech bits, giving a block of 456 bits.Finally, the 456 bits are diagonally interleaved over 8 half bursts andtransmitted over the radio interface.

[0020] For each of the other AMR modes, similar layer one transportchannel schemes are defined. A particularity of the layer one transportchannel schemes for AMR is that different parts of the information aregiven different degrees of protection against errors. Further, one partis protected with error detecting codes, while other parts are not. Thisunequal treatment of different parts is referred to as unequal errorprotection (UEP). The layer one transport channel scheme for each modeis very specific for that mode, and can not be used for any other mode,and definitely not for other services.

[0021] The layer one transport channel schemes of EGPRS are examples ofgeneric schemes. They are not optimized for a particular service. Thepackets of data to be transferred can have any size. The packet issegmented by the RLC/MAC layer into RLC data blocks of a size that fitsthe layer one transport channel schemes. On the receiving side, thepacket is reassembled from the received RLC data blocks.

[0022] The layer one transport channel schemes of EGPRS do not treat anyparticular part of the RLC data block differently. However, the RLC/MAClayer adds an RLC/MAC header to each RLC data block, which is given moreprotection than the RLC data block. In some sense, the EGPRS layer onetransport schemes are optimized, since they require a specific RLC/MACheader size and a specific RLC data block size. However, they are notoptimized for a certain type of user data (i.e., they do not assume anyparticular size or structure of the data packet before segmentation).

[0023] In EGPRS, nine different layer one transport channel schemes aredefined, called MCS-1 to MCS-9 (Modulation and Coding Scheme). Each hasa different RLC data block size. MCS-1 to MCS-4 uses GMSK modulation,while MCS-5 to MCS-9 uses 8-PSK modulation. In GERAN, only FR physicalsubchannels can be used. The nine schemes have different degrees oferror protection. In each radio block the scheme is chosen based on thechannel quality, to maximize the throughput.

[0024] Below follows a description of an MCS-6 example.

[0025] To layer one a block having a total of 622 bits is delivered. Thefirst 28 bits are the RLC/MAC header, of which the first three bitsdefine a field called USF. The remaining 594 bits are the RLC datablock. The USF field is encoded with a block code to 36 bits. To the 25remaining RLC/MAC header bits, an eight bit CRC is added, giving 33bits. These are then encoded with a tail-biting convolutional code withrate R=1/3. Finally, one spare bit is added, giving a block of 100 bits.The encoded RLC/MAC header is interleaved. To the 594 bits of the RLCdata block a 12-bit CRC is added, giving 612 bits. These are encodedwith a convolutional code with rate 1/3, and punctured. The puncturingis evenly distributed throughout the block, giving equal protection toall bits. After puncturing, the block has 1248 bits. The encoded RLCdata block is also interleaved. Finally, the encoded USF, RLC/MAC headerand RLC data block are put in a radio block and transmitted.

[0026] New services are continuously being introduced in the PLMN, andradio access networks such as GERAN are expected to provide bearerscapable of handling these services. For example, the following newservices have been discussed in the GERAN standardization: adaptivemulti-rate wideband speech (AMR WB); and voice over IP services.

[0027] Further, it is desirable to be able to transport the informationof such new services over different types of physical channels (e.g. FRand HR) and with different modulations (e.g. GMSK and 8-PSK) Anotherdesirable improvement is to be able to transport old services over newphysical channels or with new modulations. For example, AMR narrowband(NB) with 8-PSK over a half-rate physical subchannel has been discussed.For each combination of service, physical channel and modulation, newlayer one transport channel schemes are needed.

[0028] Some drawbacks associated with the current way of specifyinglayer one transport channels in GERAN are discussed below:

[0029] New circuit switched voice services have been introduced inGERAN. The Narrowband AMR is being designed for HR 8-PSK channels. Thenew speech codec wideband AMR is also being introduced, both for FR GMSKand FR 8-PSK. These new codecs require at least 8 rates per physicalsubchannel (FR, HR, etc). Each rate needs to have its own convolutionalcoding and puncturing table in memory. At the same time, each channelcoding rate has to have performance requirements for 22 differentpropagation conditions specified in 45.005. After implementation of thenew channel coding in the product, everything needs to be tested andverified.

[0030] For voice over IP, when adding an IP header to the voice frames,it is no longer possible to use the existing optimized voice bearersdefined for GSM since the payload format changes. If IP headercompression is used, the size of the compressed header will vary overtime. A new layer one transport channel scheme is needed for each speechcodec mode/IP header size combination to transport the IP headertogether with the speech. Therefore “Optimized VoIP” has been discussedin GERAN standardization, where the basic idea is to remove the IPheader. By doing so, it is possible to use standard AMR optimizedchannel coding. Some disadvantages with the current solution are absenceof IP transparency, handover between cells with different AMRcapability, and a different solution compared to UTRAN (the VoIPapplication will be RAN dependent).

[0031] The IP Multimedia Subsystem is being defined in 3GPP for REL-5.One example is unequal error protection on packet switchedconversational multimedia services where several subflows (bit classes)will be transported down to the physical layer. This enables robustheader compression (ROHC) to be used in combination with UEP/UED.Currently, GERAN can not use the same solutions developed for UTRAN.

[0032] Additional services can be expected in the future, for instancenew streaming services for video applications. Also for these, new layerone transport channel schemes are needed.

[0033] Thus, the traditional way of using predefined and fixed layer onetransport channel schemes disadvantageously implies memory-consuming andcomplex implementations at the physical layer, as well as costly changesin order to be able to provide new services. New layer one transportchannel schemes are needed for each new service and for each newphysical channel on which a service must be transported.

[0034] The invention advantageously provides flexibly configurable layerone transport channels for producing radio blocks in response tocommunication information and for extracting communication informationfrom radio blocks. According to some exemplary embodiments, eachtransport channel includes an encoder or a decoder coupled to andcooperable with a data puncturer or a data repeater. According to someexemplary embodiments, an information source produces for each transportchannel first configuration information and second configurationinformation, wherein the first configuration information is indicativeof how the associated transport channel is to be configured if a firstmodulation type is used for a current radio block, and wherein thesecond configuration information is indicative of how the associatedtransport channel is to be configured if a second modulation type isused for the current radio block. According to some exemplaryembodiments, the physical layer includes a description informationsource that provides description information from which variousconfigurations of the transport channels can be determined. Thedescription information source provides the description information inthe physical layer in response to further information which thedescription information source receives from a higher layer and which isindicative of a service request initiated by a communication network.According to some exemplary embodiments, one of the transport channelsis enabled to extract its associated communication information from aradio block while another of the transport channels is maintaineddisabled. The one transport channel provides the extracted communicationinformation to a decision maker in a higher layer. In response to theextracted communication information, the decision maker decides whetherthe other transport channel should be enabled, and provides to thephysical layer an indication of its decision. The other transportchannel can then be enabled if the decision maker provides an enableindication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035]FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates a mobile station in radiocommunication with a PLMN according to the prior art.

[0036]FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary embodiments of a radio transceiver that supports communicationacross the radio interface of FIG. 1.

[0037]FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates the layer one transportchannels of FIG. 2 in greater detail.

[0038]FIG. 4 illustrates the format of an exemplary radio blockaccording to the invention.

[0039]FIG. 5 illustrates the response of the present invention to an RABrequest from a core network.

[0040]FIGS. 6 and 6A illustrate information elements included withinexemplary Transport Format Combination Set descriptors according to theinvention.

[0041]FIG. 7 illustrates in tabular format exemplary CRC types which canbe represented by the value of a corresponding field in FIG. 6.

[0042]FIG. 8 illustrates in tabular format exemplary error correctioncode types which can be represented by the value of a correspondingfield in FIG. 6.

[0043]FIG. 9 illustrates in tabular format radio block sizes which canbe represented by the value of a corresponding field in FIG. 6.

[0044]FIG. 10 illustrates in tabular format radio block interleave typeswhich can be represented by the value of a corresponding field in FIG.6.

[0045]FIG. 11 diagrammatically illustrates examples of the layer onetransport channels of FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0046]FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary Transport Format descriptor thatcan be used to selectively limit the layer one processing of incomingradio blocks according to the invention.

[0047]FIG. 13 conceptually illustrates exemplary operations which can beperformed according to the invention in response to the Transport Formatdescriptor of FIG. 12.

[0048]FIG. 14 conceptually illustrates further exemplary operationswhich can be performed in response to the Transport Format descriptor ofFIG. 12.

[0049]FIG. 15 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary embodiments of a radio transceiver which can perform theoperations illustrated in either or both of FIGS. 13 and 14.

[0050]FIG. 16 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of furtherexemplary embodiments of a radio transceiver according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The present invention permits customized and/or optimized layerone transport channels to be configured while a given call is being setup. These layer one transport channels can be configured, for example,in a manner that will best support the service associated with the call.

[0052]FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary embodiments of a radio transceiver according to the invention,for example a radio transceiver within a mobile station of the typegenerally shown at 13 in FIG. 1, or a radio transceiver within a basetransceiver station (BTS) of the type generally shown in FIG. 1. Thetransceiver portion illustrated in FIG. 2 resides generally in layer one(the physical, or PHY, layer) of the transceiver. A plurality of layerone transport channels (L1TCs) at 12 communicate data bitsbidirectionally with layer two (L2) at 201. The layer one transportchannels at 12 also communicate radio blocks bidirectionally with aradio block interleaver/de-interleaver 25 at a radio block port 200. Theradio block interleaver/de-interleaver 25 is in turn coupled forbidirectional communication with physical radio channels (e.g., GERANphysical subchannels). Of course, a modulator/demodulator is interposedbetween the radio block interleaver/de-interleaver and the physicalchannels. This structure, which is well known in the art and notnecessary to understand the invention, is not explicitly shown in FIG.2.

[0053] The layer one transport channels are configured in accordancewith configuration information designated herein as transport formats(TFs). Each layer one transport channel is configured according to arespective transport format. A group of transport formats that definethe layer one transport channels for a given call are referred to hereinas a transport format combination (TFC). A plurality of transport formatcombinations can be stored in a TFC storage device 14, and theconstituent transport formats of a selected transport format combinationare output at 26 from the storage device 14 in order to configure thetransport channels 12 for transmission or reception of a given radioblock at radio block port 200. For radio block reception, the layer onetransport channels at 12 are configured by their respective transportformats to produce data bits at 201 in response to the received radioblock at 200, which data bits are forwarded to layer two. Intransmission operations, the layer one transport channels 12 areconfigured by their respective transport formats to produce an outgoingradio block at 200 in response to data bits received at 201 from layertwo.

[0054] The transport format combinations are produced by a transportformat assembler 16 and then stored at 14. The transport formatassembler 16 assembles each individual transport format of everytransport format combination in response to information received from adecoder 18, and also in response to information modules stored in aninformation module storage device 20. Each information module stored at20 contains information which can be used to configure a layer onetransport channel to perform a desired function, for example CRC coding,error correction coding, code puncturing, code repetition, andinterleaving. In response to control information received from thedecoder 18, the transport format assembler 16 retrieves selectedinformation modules from the storage device 20 and assembles thosemodules together to produce a transport format which will be used toconfigure an associated layer one transport channel at 12. For example,a transport format for transmitting may include information modulesrespectively corresponding to CRC coding, error correction coding andcode puncturing. An exemplary transport format for receiving may includeinformation modules respectively corresponding to de-interleaving, errorcorrection decoding and CRC decoding. The information module storagedevice 20 can include, for example, information modules respectivelycorresponding to a plurality of CRC coding/decoding schemes, andinformation modules respectively corresponding to a plurality ofdifferent error correction coding/decoding schemes.

[0055] Thus, the transport format assembler 16 is capable of assemblingmany different transport formats that respectively correspond todifferent possible combinations of the information modules stored at 20.As mentioned above, the assembler 16 also groups individual transportformats together into transport format combinations which are stored at14. Each transport format combination can be used to configure aplurality of layer one transport channels at 12, each transport channelconfigured by a respectively corresponding transport format of thetransport format combination.

[0056] The decoder 18 provides the control information to the transportformat assembler 16 in response to a transport format combination set(TFCS) descriptor stored at 21. The TFCS descriptor is received from acontrol plane layer of the transceiver. The TFCS descriptor is providedon a per call basis, so each TFCS descriptor is associated with acorresponding call identifier (call ID), also provided from the controlplane layer at 27. The TFCS descriptor for a given call contains allinformation needed by the transport format assembler 16 to assemble aset of all transport format combinations which will be available for useduring the associated call. The TFCS descriptor includes the informationneeded by the transport format assembler 16 to group the varioustransport formats into the appropriate transport format combinations forstorage at 14. The transport format combinations are applied toconfigure the layer one transport channels 12 on a per radio blockbasis. More specifically, for each incoming or outgoing radio block, anew transport format combination can be selected from the storage device14 for appropriate configuration of the layer one transport channels.The layer one transport channels at 12 then either produce the radioblock at 200 from the data bits at 201, or produce the data bits at 201from the radio block at 200.

[0057] The transport format combination storage device at 14 can includetransport format combination sets respectively corresponding to aplurality of different TFCS descriptors that respectively correspond toa plurality of different calls. The TFCS descriptors are provided duringcall set up, along with the call identification information at 27. TheTFCS descriptors are stored at 21 (indexed, e.g. by the associated callIDs), and are available to the decoder 18. The decoder 18 decodes eachTFCS descriptor and provides to the transport format assembler 16 allinformation needed to assemble the transport format combination setassociated with the TFCS descriptor. The assembler 16 can assigntransport format combination indicators (TFCIs) which uniquely identifythe respective transport format combinations of the set specified by agiven TFCS descriptor. The transport format assembler 16 can use theTFCI to index each of the transport format combinations in the storagedevice 14, and the call ID can be used to index the desired transportformat combination set in device 14. The assembler 16 can assign TFCIvalues, for example, in the order in which it produces and stores theTFCs of the TFCS. In some embodiments, TFCI for a given TFCS can havevalues from “1” through the total number of TFCs in the TFCS.

[0058] During transmissions, layer two provides the TFCI to layer one inorder to specify which transport format combination is desired for thecurrent radio block of the current call. A TX/RX signal 28, indicativeof whether transmission or reception operations are occurring, controlsa selector 22 so that the TFCI is provided to the storage device 14directly from layer two during transmission operations. The transportformat combination storage device 14 also receives the call ID 27 andthe TX/RX signal. The call ID permits the storage device to determinewhich set of transport format combinations stored therein is to beaccessed, TFCI indicates which transport format combination within thatset is to be used, and the TX/RX signal indicates whether to use areceiving version of the selected transport format combination or atransmitting version of the selected transport format combination. Thereceiving version configures the layer one transport channels at 12 toreceive radio blocks at 200 and produce therefrom data bits at 201, andthe transmit version of the transport format combination configures thetransport channels at 12 to receive data bits at 201 and producetherefrom a radio block at 200.

[0059] Also during transmissions, TFCI as received from layer two ispassed through selector 23 for input to an associated one of the layerone transport channels 12. TFCI is processed by the associated layer onetransport channel for inclusion in the radio block at 200. Each TFCSdescriptor includes information which defines a transport format thatwill be used to configure a layer one transport channel for the TFCI, inorder to permit the TFCI to be transmitted in the radio block to thereceiving end. The transport format corresponding to TFCI is provided at26 to the associated layer one transport channel. Also provided at 26are the transport formats for one or more data channels corresponding tothe data bits at 201. Each outgoing radio block is thus produced bypassing the data bits at 201 and the TFCI through appropriate layer onetransport channels at 12 to produce the radio block at 200.

[0060] During reception, the TFCI is received within the radio block200, and passes through its associated layer one transport channel tostorage device 14 via selector 22 (by virtue of the TX/RX signalindicating receive operation). Thus, the received TFCI can be applied tothe storage device 14 in order to identify the transport formatcombination that is to be used to process the rest of the incoming radioblock. The transport formats of the selected transport formatcombination are then applied to the corresponding layer one transportchannels at 12, thereby permitting the remainder of the layer onetransport channels to process the remainder of the radio block at 200 inorder to produce the data bits at 201.

[0061] A receive (Rx) controller 24 can be utilized to control when thelayer one transport channels are enabled during receive operation. Thereceive (Rx) enables produced by the receive controller 24 ensure thatonly the layer one transport channel associated with TFCI is enabled atfirst, and the receive controller 24 thereafter enables the remainder ofthe layer one transport channels, after the received TFCI has been usedto obtain the desired transport format combination from the storagedevice 14.

[0062]FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates the layer one transportchannels of FIG. 2 in more detail. FIG. 3 illustrates the layer onetransport channels individually, with their respective transport formatsand receive enable signals. As shown, the layer one transport channelfor TFCI receives the corresponding TFCI transport format, designated asTF(TFCI). The layer one transport channel for TFCI, designatedL1TC(TFCI) in FIG. 3, also receives a corresponding receive enablesignal from the receive controller 24. This receive enable signal isdesignated EN(TFCI) in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 also illustrates an exemplarytransport format combination, namely the nth transport formatcombination, designated as TFC(n). As shown in FIG. 3, TFC(n) includesN_(n) transport formats, designated in FIG. 3 as TF(1) . . . TF(N_(n)).Thus, the nth transport format combination includes N_(n) transportformats, which in turn configure N_(n) corresponding layer one transportchannels, designated L1TC(L) . . . L1TC(N_(n)) in FIG. 3. Each of theN_(n) channels also receives a corresponding receive enable signal,designated as EN(1) . . . EN(N_(n)) in FIG. 3. For an exemplarytransport format combination set having M transport format combinations,the index n in FIG. 3 can take values of 1, 2, . . . M. Also, each ofthe M transport format combinations can include its own uniquelyassociated number of transport formats, designated as N_(n) in FIG. 3.

[0063] During transmission, the layer one transport channels of FIGS. 2and 3 collectively output a radio block at 200 and, during reception,the layer one transport channels collectively receive a radio block at200 as input. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a radio block that can becollectively output by the layer one transport channels, or can bereceived collectively as an input by the layer one transport channels.As shown in FIG. 4, the radio block includes a TFCI portion (e.g., alayer one header) which indicates the transport format combination thathas been used at the transmitter and should therefore be used at thereceiver also. The remainder of the radio block carries user data. Theradio block illustrated in FIG. 4 corresponds to a value of n=M in FIG.3, so the radio block includes NM user data portions (corresponding toN_(M) L1TCs) in addition to the TFCI information portion. The portion ofradio block 41 designated Transport Format 1 is the portion of the radioblock that has been produced by L1TC(1) (transmit operation) or theportion of the radio block that is to be input to L1TC(1) (receiveoperation). Similarly, the portion of radio block 41 designatedTransport Format NM represents the output of L1TC(NM) (transmitoperation) or the input to L1TC(NM) (receive operation).

[0064] Because one or more of the layer one transport channels can beconfigured differently from all other layer one transport channels, andthus may have, for example, a different propagation delay than all otherlayer one transport channels, a multiplexing apparatus or other suitableparallel concatenating apparatus (not explicitly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3)can be coupled to the radio block side of the layer one transportchannels to concatenate the outputs of the individual layer onetransport channels together in order to format the radio block generallyas shown in FIG. 4. The radio block formed in this manner can then beinput to the radio block interleaver at 25. From the point where theradio block is input to the interleaver 25, the radio block can besubjected to generally conventional interleaving, modulating and anyother suitable conventional processing (not explicitly shown) beforetransmission on the physical radio channel(s).

[0065] As mentioned above, when a call for a desired service is beingset up, a 3G core network in a conventional PLMN transmits to the radioaccess network of the PLMN an RAB request that contains informationabout the service for which the call is being set up. In the example ofa GERAN radio access network, the radio resource control (RRC or RR)layer of GERAN can be configured according to the invention to translatethe RAB request into a corresponding TFCS descriptor (see also FIG. 2)for the call. The RRC (or RR) layer can perform this translation basedon the above-described information provided in the RAB request, togetherwith other information that is conventionally available in the radioaccess network, for example available radio resources, etc. The RRC (orRR) layer can be designed according to the invention to find a suitableconfiguration (specified by a TFCS descriptor) of layer one transportchannels to fulfill the requirements in the RAB request, and at the sametime economize with respect to resource utilization in the radio accessnetwork. The RRC (or RR) layer in GERAN (for example in a BTS of GERAN)can send the TFCS descriptor to the physical layer of GERAN, and canalso send the TFCS descriptor to the RRC (or RR) layer of the mobilestation. The RRC (or RR) layer of the mobile station can, according tothe invention, forward the TFCS descriptor to layer one of the mobilestation. The above-described exemplary handling of an RAB request isillustrated in FIG. 5. The example of FIG. 5 uses the RRC layer. In FIG.5, layer one of the BTS and layer one of the mobile station aredesignated as the PHY layer.

[0066]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary TFCS descriptor according to theinvention. As indicated above, the TFCS descriptor includes all of theinformation that the transport format assembler 16 needs to assemblefrom the information modules stored at 20 all transport formats of eachtransport format combination that will be available for the call towhich the TFCS descriptor corresponds. As shown in FIG. 6, the TFCSdescriptor includes a field which specifies the size of the radio block(see also 200 in FIGS. 2 and 41 in FIG. 4), a field which specifies thenumber of TFCs available for use during the call, and a field whichspecifies the type of interleaving/de-interleaving that will beimplemented by the radio block interleaver/de-interleaver at 25 in FIG.2. The TFCS descriptor of FIG. 6 also includes a TFCI descriptor 62.This TFCI descriptor includes a data structure 62A having a field whichspecifies the number of bits which are to be output by the L1TC(TCFI)during transmission (the number of input bits for L1TC(TFCI) duringtransmission is implicitly known from knowing the number TFCs), a fieldwhich specifies the type of CRC coding/decoding that will be applied inL1TC(TFCI), a field which specifies the type of error correctioncoding/decoding that will be implemented in L1TC(TFCI) and, in theembodiment of FIG. 6, a 1 bit field which indicates whether or notinterleaving is to be used within L1TC(TFCI). During reception, theoutput bits field of course specifies the number of bits that will beinput to L1TC(TFCI). In some embodiments, L1TC(TFCI) is configured toprovide better performance than the most robust of L1TC(1) . . .L1TC(NM).

[0067] The TFCS descriptor of FIG. 6 also includes a transport formatcombination (TFC) descriptor 63 which specifies the number of TFCsavailable for the call, and which further includes a TFC descriptor datastructure for each TFC associated with the TFCS. An example of such aTFC descriptor data structure is shown at 63A.

[0068] Each TFC descriptor data structure includes a field whichspecifies the number of transport formats in that TFC, and also includesa transport format descriptor 64 that specifies, for each transportformat of the TFC, a transport format descriptor data structure. Anexample of such a transport format descriptor data structure is shown at64A. As shown in FIG. 6, an exemplary transport format descriptor datastructure includes a plurality of fields which include information to beused by the transport format assembler 16 of FIG. 2 in assembling fromthe information modules at 20 the transport format that will be used toconfigure a corresponding layer one transport channel at 12. Thetransport format descriptor data structure example shown at 64A in FIG.6 includes an 11 bit field for specifying the number of bits that willbe input to the corresponding transport channel (for example duringtransmit), another 11 bit field for specifying the number of bits thatwill be output from the corresponding transport channel (again, forexample, during transmit), a 3 bit field for specifying the type of CRCcoding/decoding that will be used in the corresponding transportchannel, another 3 bit field for specifying the type of error correctioncoding/decoding that will be used in the corresponding transport channeland, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, a 1 bit field for specifying whetheror not the corresponding transport channel will applyinterleaving/de-interleaving. If the “bits in” field and “bits out”field are defined for transmit operation, then they can simply beswapped with one another for receive operation.

[0069] The decoder 18 of FIG. 2 can extract from the TFCS descriptor(for example the TFCS descriptor of FIG. 6) all information needed bythe transport format assembler 16 to produce the transport formatcombinations stored at 14. FIG. 7 illustrates in tabular formatexemplary types of CRC coding/decoding which can be designated bycorresponding CRC field values in the TFCS descriptor. The informationneeded to implement the various illustrated exemplary types of CRCcoding/decoding can be contained in corresponding information modulesstored at 20 in FIG. 2. Similarly, FIG. 8 illustrates in tabular formatexemplary types of error correction coding/decoding which can bedesignated by the corresponding field values in the TFCS descriptor.Again, all information needed to implement the various exemplary typesof error correction coding/decoding shown in FIG. 8 can be contained incorresponding information modules stored at 20 in FIG. 2.

[0070]FIG. 9 illustrates in tabular format various exemplary radio blocksizes which can be specified by the radio block size field value of theTFCS descriptor. As illustrated in FIG. 9, different possiblecombinations of modulation and physical channel data rates haveassociated therewith different radio block sizes.

[0071]FIG. 10 illustrates in tabular format various exemplary types ofradio block interleaving which can be specified by the correspondingfield value in the TFCS descriptor. Although the radio blockinterleaving/de-interleaving at 25 in FIG. 2 is not strictly a part ofthe layer one transport channels 12, and is not defined by the transportformats illustrated in FIG. 2, nevertheless this information provided inthe TFCS descriptor can be extracted by the decoder 18 and provided tothe interleaver/de-interleaver 25 (not explicitly shown in FIG. 2) tocontrol the operation of the interleaver/de-interleaver 25.

[0072] Regarding the use of code puncturing or code repetition, eithermay be needed in the transport channels in order to ensure that thenumber of bits output by the transport channel (during transmit orreceive) matches the number of bits specified by the transport formatdescriptor data structure associated with that transport channel.Puncturing would be necessary if the transport channel would otherwiseproduce a number of output bits larger than that specified by thetransport format descriptor data structure, and repetition would benecessary if the transport channel would otherwise output a number ofbits smaller than the number of output bits specified by the transportformat descriptor data structure. The need for puncturing (orrepetition) can be determined by the transport format assembler 16 whenassembling the transport format combinations for storage at 14. Ifpuncturing or repetition is used in a transport channel on the transmitside, then corresponding de-puncturing or de-repetition can be used in acorresponding transport channel on the receive side.

[0073] The puncturing (or repetition) pattern can be derivedalgorithmically based on the number of bits before and after puncturing(or repetition). The number of bits before puncturing (or repetition) isimplicitly known (code rate*(information bits+CRC bits)). The number ofbits after puncturing (or repetition) is a parameter (e.g., the “bitsout” parameter of FIG. 6).

[0074] For instance, the puncturing can be derived as follows:

[0075] If a block of N bits shall be punctured to contain M bits, thebits at positions

[0076] J=floor(I*N/(N−M))

[0077] are punctured, where

[0078] I=0, . . . N−M−1

[0079] and “floor” means taking the integer part.

[0080] If, on the other hand, repetition shall be done, the repetitioncan be derived as follows:

[0081] If a block of N bits shall be repeated to contain O bits, thebits at positions

[0082] J=floor(I*N/(O−N))

[0083] are repeated, where

[0084] I=0, . . . , O−N−1

[0085] and “floor” means taking the integer part.

[0086] If error correction is required, the channel (i.e., errorcorrection) coding can be chosen from a set of available channel codingtypes (see, e.g., FIG. 8). This set can, for instance, includenon-recursive terminated convolutional coding, recursive systematicterminated convolutional coding and tail-biting convolutional coding andblock codes. The constraint length of the convolutional codes is aparameter (e.g., 5 or 7 as shown in FIG. 8).

[0087] The rate of the error correction code is implicitly defined bythe number of inbits (information bits+CRC bits) and the number ofoutbits after puncturing; in some embodiments, the rate is chosen as thehighest rate possible considering the required number of output bitsafter rate matching. If a code rate lower than e.g. ¼ is needed, therate ¼ can be chosen and repetition can be used to lower the code rate.The constraint length and the rate implicitly define the polynomials ofthe error correction codes (fixed polynomial sets). In one exampleapplication of the invention, layer one can be configured to supportAMR. Assuming narrowband AMR, there are 8 channel codecs conventionallyavailable, each having a different amount of class 1A bits and class 1Bbits per 20 ms speech frame. This example assumes that 4 of the 8channel codecs are available, so four TFCs would be needed (one for eachcodec). According to some embodiments of the invention, the class 1Abits and class 1B bits and AMR signalling (inband) bits can betransported through respectively different layer one transport channels,so each TFC would specify three transport formats: one for class 1Abits; one for class 1B bits; and one for the inband bits. A given TFCcan correspond, for example, to a conventional coding scheme such asCS-1, O-TCH/AHS122 or O-TCH/AHS795. Thus, the TFCS can be seen tosupport conventional link adaptation.

[0088] In addition to the speech frames, call control signalling (e.g.,FACCH) and silence information descriptor (e.g., SID UPDATE) can besupported on the physical subchannel. This results in a total of 6 TFCsspecified in the TFCS descriptor, namely, the 4 TFCs for the 4 availablecodecs, one TFC for the call control signalling, and one TFC for thesilence information descriptor.

[0089]FIG. 11 conceptually illustrates exemplary operations according tothe invention during transmission. As shown in FIG. 11, the TFCI passesthrough its corresponding layer one transport channel at 110, and thedata bits received from layer two pass through the layer one transportchannels specified by a selected one of TFC(1), TFC(2), . . . , TFC(M)(see also FIGS. 3 and 4 and discussion thereof above). As shown in FIG.11, each TFC(n) for n=1. 2, . . . , M includes N_(n) transport formatswhich in turn specify N_(n) layer one transport channels. The outputs ofthe transport channels implemented by the selected transport formatcombination are concatenated together (e.g., by associated multiplexes),and the result is concatenated at 115 with the output of the TFCI layerone transport channel 110, thereby producing a radio block (see alsoFIG. 2) at 118 for radio block interleaving at 119. Each layer onetransport channel illustrated in the example of FIG. 11 includes CRCcoding, error correction coding, puncturing (or repetition), andinterleaving. Corresponding transport channels at the receiver caninclude corresponding CRC decoding, error correction decoding,depuncturing (or de-repetition), and de-interleaving.

[0090] In view of the fact that the TFCI is not actually user data, andcan be transmitted as a layer one header as shown, for example, in FIGS.4 and 11, the layer one processing of all TFCI does not strictlyconstitute a transport channel for user data. How, because theoperations performed on TFCI in layer one are analogues to thoseperformed on the user data in layer one, the layer one processing ofTFCI is also referred to herein as a layer one transport channel, (seealso L1TC (TFCI) of FIG. 3).

[0091] The invention can also support the use of GMSK modulation and8-PSK modulation on the same physical subchannel. One exemplaryembodiment defines transport format combinations and correspondingtransport format combination indicators for each type of modulation.Blind detection can then be performed at the receiving side on a perradio block basis before decoding the TFCI information. In order tolimit the complexity, such multi-modulation support could be allowed,for example, only for block interleaved data. FIG. 6A illustrates anexemplary TFCS descriptor for such multi-modulation operation.

[0092] When a shared physical subchannel is used in the downlink (e.g.,from 11 across 17 in FIG. 1), all radio blocks on the channel are notnecessarily intended for one MS. Instead, several MSs can listen to onephysical subchannel. Based on information within each received block,each MS decides whether it is the intended recipient of the block. Thisis the situation, for example, in GPRS and EGPRS. Since the conventionallayer one is aware of what each part of the block contains, layer one ofeach MS can decode only the parts of the block needed to decide if theblock is intended for that MS. To achieve flexibility, the receivinglayer one according to some embodiments of the invention is not aware ofthe contents of the radio block data—except for the L1 header(containing the TFCI). In such embodiments, layer one only decodes theblock and delivers it to layer two. This means decoding all blocksentirely. This has the drawback that processing power and battery powercan be wasted on blocks not intended for the MS.

[0093] The situation can be even more severe when the MS has no ongoingdownlink data flow, but only an uplink flow. In conventional GPRS andEGPRS, for example, a special part of the downlink radio blocks, calledthe uplink state flag (USF), tells the MS whether it is allowed totransmit in uplink or not. If there is no ongoing downlink flow, onlythe USF needs to be decoded. However, if all parts of the downlink blockare decoded in layer one and delivered to higher layers in the MS, andif the higher layers then use only the USF, this causes unnecessarypower consumption.

[0094] When conventional incremental redundancy is used, the physicallayer (e.g., in EGPRS) needs to know the RLC sequence number of thereceived block(s) in order to perform soft combination of earliertransmissions of the same block. Conventionally, layer one extracts theRLC sequence number from the RLC/MAC header. This type of operation isproblematic in inventive embodiments wherein layer one is unaware of thecontent of the received radio block.

[0095] Therefore, some embodiments of the invention delay the operationof selected L1TCs during reception. So, initially (after extractingTFCI), only a subset of the L1TCs operate to deliver information tohigher layers. The higher layers then interpret the received informationto decide what additional L1TCs should be enabled for operation.

[0096] To support this, a Send Up bit is included in the transportformat descriptor. The Send Up bit indicates whether or not the L1TCshould operate and send its output to a higher layer. Thus, the Send Upbit(s) of a TFC indicate whether all L1TCs should operate, or whetheronly a subset of all L1TCs should operate initially, pending a decodingorder from a higher layer. The exemplary transport format descriptorstructure of FIG. 12 includes such a Send Up bit. In some embodiments,the Send Up bit can be stored by assembler 16 (of FIG. 2) in TFC storage14 along with the corresponding transport format.

[0097] For example, a scheme similar to EGPRS could be achieved if onlythe L1TCs that handle the RLC/MAC header and the USF are operatedinitially. Based on the result, higher layers can decide if theremaining L1TCs should be operated.

[0098]FIG. 13 illustrates exemplary operations which can be performedaccording to the invention in response to a Send Up bit such as shown inFIG. 12. At 131, the received TFCI information is passed through itscorresponding L1TC in order to determine which TFC is being used. Alltransport formats of the TFC are then inspected for active Send Up bits.In the example of FIG. 13, the transport formats associated with theRLC/MAC header and the USF include active Send Up bits, so the RLC/MACheader and the USF are passed through their corresponding L1TCs tohigher layers. This is illustrated at 132 and 133 in FIG. 13. Based onthe content of the RLC/MAC header (e.g. an address therein such as thetemporary flow identifier TFI used in conventional GRRS/EGPRS), theRLC/MAC layer tells layer one whether or not to enable the L1TCassociated with the RLC data block. In the example of FIG. 13, the L1TCfor the RLC data block is enabled, as illustrated at 135, and the RLCinformation produced by that L1TC is forwarded to the RLC/MAC layer at136. Also in FIG. 13, the RLC/MAC layer can determine from the USFinformation (forwarded at 132 and 133) whether or not transmission ispermitted in the next uplink block.

[0099]FIG. 14 illustrates exemplary operations which can be performed inresponse to Send Up bits when incremental redundancy is supported. At141, L1TC(TFCI) is enabled so that the TFCI information can be examinedto determine which TFC is being used. Also at 141, the Send Up bit ofeach transport format of the selected TFC is inspected. In the exampleof FIG. 14, the transport format associated with the RLC/MAC headerincludes an active Send Up bit, so the corresponding L1TC is enabled at142, in order to permit the RLC/MAC header information to be forwardedto the RLC/MAC layer at 143. At 144, the RLC/MAC layer provides an RLCsequence number to layer one, together with an instruction to enable theL1TC associated with the RLC data block. At 145, previously stored softvalues of a previously received RLC data block having the same RLCsequence number are obtained and, at 146, the presently received RLCdata block (from the received radio block) is applied to its L1TC. TheL1TC for the RLC data block uses the stored soft values retrieved at 145and the present RLC data block (which also includes soft values) todecode the present RLC data block. At 147, new soft values produced byoperation of the L1TC (for example, due to incorrect CRC) are storedand, at 148, if the CRC is correct, the RLC data produced by the L1TC isforwarded to the RLC/MAC layer.

[0100] Soft values are real numbers, indicating both the value (1 or 0)of a received bit, and the likelihood that the bit was correctlyreceived. A positive sign of the soft value indicates a “0” while anegative value indicates a “1”. A large absolute value indicates areliable bit, while a small absolute value indicates an unreliable bit.

[0101]FIG. 15 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary transceiver embodiments that support the operationsillustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. When the TX/RX signal (see also FIG. 2)indicates receive operation, a receive controller 151 uses the receivedTFCI information to determine from TFC storage 14 which transportformats of the selected TFC include an active Send Up bit. The receivecontroller 151 then enables the L1TCs corresponding to those transportformats which include active Send Up bits. Thereafter, the receivecontroller 151 receives information 152 from the RLC/MAC layer, whichinformation indicates which (if any) additional L1TCs should be enabledsuch that the information associated therewith can be forwarded to theRLC/MAC layer. The receive controller 151 is responsive to thisinformation 152 to enable the remaining L1TCs accordingly. Theoperations of FIG. 14 can be supported by providing a soft valuesstorage portion 153. In response to information (e.g. an RLC sequencenumber) received at 152 from the RLC/MAC layer, the receive controller151 can cause the soft values storage portion 153 to exchange softvalues with a selected L1TC (as shown by broken lines in FIG. 15), forexample, the L1TC associated with the RLC data block of FIG. 14.

[0102] Referring again to FIG. 1, when GERAN, for example, is attachedto a 2G core network, a specific service request is conventionally usedinstead of a generic RAB request. For example, Enhanced Full-Rate Speechcan be requested in a conventional Assignment Request message from the2G core network to GERAN. GERAN then conventionally selects acorresponding predefined coding scheme for that specific service. Unlikean RAB, the Assignment Request only signals a service, not theparameters associated with the service. Thus, the Assignment Requestcannot be translated into a TFCS descriptor as in FIG. 5.

[0103] Some embodiments therefore store a preconfiguration for eachservice that is supported in the 2G core network. The preconfigurationcontains all information necessary to configure the L1TCs for a service,for example, Wideband AMR, in terms of bit classes (transport formats),bits in/out, coding, etc. A preconfiguration table stored in the MS andin the radio access network, for example, in the BTS on the GERAN side,is used when the 2G core network sends an Assignment Request to set upthe service. This advantageously permits the 2G core network to use itsexisting conventional signalling procedures.

[0104]FIG. 16 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions ofexemplary embodiments of a transceiver according to the invention whichcan support a service request from a 2G core network. It is initiallynoted that the service request received by the radio access network (orsuitable information representative of the service request) can bedistributed to layer one of both the radio access network and the mobilestation in generally the same fashion that the TFCS descriptor isdistributed to layer one of both the radio access network and the mobilestation using for example, the RRC or RR layer (see also FIG. 5). Asshown in FIG. 16, the service request, as received, in this example,from the RRC layer, is applied to a preconfiguration table 161 which isresponsive to the service request to produce a TFCS descriptor which hasbeen pre-selected for use with such a service request, and has beenstored in table 161. The table 161 can store therein a plurality of TFCSdescriptors indexed against corresponding service requests. The selectedTFCS descriptor can be transferred to the storage device 21 of FIG. 2and, from that point, the transceiver can operate, for example,generally as described above with respect to FIGS. 2-15.

[0105] It will be evident to workers in the art that the embodiments ofFIGS. 2-16 can be implemented, for example, by suitably modifyingsoftware, hardware or a combination of software and hardware, inconventional radio access networks and mobile stations.

[0106] Although exemplary embodiments of the invention are describedabove in detail, this does not limit the scope of the invention, whichcan be practiced in a variety of embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A radio communication apparatus, comprising: aphysical layer portion and a higher layer portion coupled forcommunication therebetween; said physical layer portion including aradio block port for coupling to a physical radio channel, said radioblock port for receiving a sequence of radio blocks that each includecommunication information associated with operations of said higherlayer portion, each said radio block facilitating transmission of itsassociated communication information on the physical radio channel; saidphysical layer portion including a plurality of individuallyconfigurable transport channels coupled between said radio block portand said higher layer portion for interfacing between said radio blockport and said higher layer portion, said transport channels collectivelyoperable for one of producing said radio blocks in response to theassociated communication information and extracting the associatedcommunication information from said radio blocks, each of said transportchannels including a configuration input for receiving transport formatinformation associated with a current radio block of said sequence, saidtransport format information indicative of how the associated transportchannel is to be configured with respect to said current radio block;and each said transport channel responsive to the associated transportformat information for implementing one of an encoder and a decoder, andat least one of said transport channels responsive to the associatedtransport format information for implementing one of a data puncturerand a data repeater coupled to and cooperable with said one of anencoder and a decoder.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said atleast one transport channel implements a data puncturer, said datapuncturer having an input for receiving a block of N bits, said datapuncturer operable for puncturing the block to contain M bits bypuncturing bits at positions J within the block, whereinJ=floor(I*N/(N−M)) for I=0, . . . N−M−1.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said at least one transport channel implements a data repeater,said data repeater having an input for receiving a block of N bits, saiddata repeater operable for repeating the block to contain O bits byrepeating bits at positions J within the block, whereinJ=floor(I*N/(O−N)) for I=0, . . . , O−N−1.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said one of an encoder and a decoder implements a convolutionalcode technique.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, including a transportformat information source coupled to said configuration inputs of saidtransport channels for providing said transport format informationthereto, said transport format information source having an inputcoupled to one of said higher layer portion and said radio block portfor receiving therefrom selection information, said transport formatinformation source responsive to said selection information forselecting said transport format information and providing said transportformat information to said configuration inputs.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein said transport channels are collectively operable forextracting communication information from said radio blocks, and whereineach said transport channel is operable for implementing a decoder. 7.The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said physical layer portion includes afurther transport channel coupled between said radio block and saidinput of said transport format information source for extracting saidselection information from the current radio block and providing theextracted selection information to said input of said transport formatinformation source.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said transportchannels are collectively operable for producing said radio blocks inresponse to communication information, and wherein each said transportchannel is operable for implementing an encoder.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein said transport channels are collectively operable forboth producing said radio blocks in response to communicationinformation and extracting communication information from said radioblocks, each said transport channel operable for implementing an encoderwhen said transport channels are collectively producing a radio block inresponse to communication information, and each said transport channeloperable for implementing a decoder when said transport channels arecollectively extracting communication information from a radio block.10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said radio blocks are GERAN radioblocks.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, provided in one of a mobilecommunication station and a fixed communication station.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the fixed communication station isprovided in a radio access network of a PLMN.
 13. The apparatus of claim1, wherein s aid communication information includes speech information.14. A radio communication apparatus, comprising: a physical layerportion and a higher layer portion coupled for communicationtherebetween; said physical layer portion including a radio block portfor coupling to a physical radio channel, said radio block port forreceiving a sequence of radio blocks that each include communicationinformation associated with operations of said higher layer portion,each said radio block facilitating transmission of its associatedcommunication information on the physical radio channel; said physicallayer portion including a plurality of individually configurabletransport channels coupled between said radio block port and said higherlayer portion for interfacing between said radio block port and saidhigher layer portion, said transport channels collectively operable forone of producing said radio blocks in response to the associatedcommunication information and extracting the associated communicationinformation from said radio blocks, each of said transport channelsincluding a configuration input for receiving transport formatinformation associated with a current radio block of said sequence, saidtransport format information indicative of how the associated transportchannel is to be configured with respect to said current radio block;and said physical layer portion including a transport format informationsource coupled to said configuration inputs of said transport channelsfor providing each of said transport channels with its correspondingtransport format information, said transport format information sourceoperable for producing, for each of said transport channels, first saidtransport format information and second said transport formatinformation, said first transport format information indicative of howthe associated transport channel is to be configured if a firstmodulation type is used for transmission of the current radio block onthe physical radio channel, and said second transport format informationindicative of how the associated transport channel is to be configuredif a second modulation type is used for transmission of the currentradio block on the physical radio channel, said transport formatinformation source operable for providing to each of said transportchannels either one of the corresponding first transport formatinformation and the corresponding second transport format information.15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said transport channels arecollectively operable for extracting communication information from saidradio blocks.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said transportformat information source includes an input coupled to one of said radioblock port and said higher layer portion for receiving therefromselection information, said transport format information sourceresponsive to said selection information for selecting for each of saidtransport channels one of the corresponding first transport formatinformation and the corresponding second transport format information.17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said physical layer portionincludes a further transport channel coupled between said radio blockport and said input of said transport format information source forextracting said selection information from the current radio block andproviding the extracted selection information to said input of saidtransport format information source.
 18. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein said transport channels are collectively operable for producingsaid radio blocks in response to communication information.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein said transport channels are collectivelyoperable for both producing radio blocks in response to communicationinformation and extracting communication information from radio blocks.20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein one of said modulation types isGMSK modulation.
 21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein one of saidmodulation types is PSK modulation.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21,wherein the other of said modulation types is GMSK modulation.
 23. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein said radio blocks are GERAN radio blocks.24. The apparatus of claim 14, provided in one of a mobile communicationstation and a fixed communication station.
 25. The apparatus of claim24, wherein the fixed communication station is provided in a radioaccess network of a PLMN.
 26. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein saidcommunication information is speech information.
 27. A radiocommunication apparatus, comprising: a physical layer portion and ahigher layer portion coupled for communication therebetween; saidphysical layer portion including a radio block port for coupling to aphysical radio channel, said radio block port for receiving a sequenceof radio blocks that each include communication information associatedwith operations of said higher layer portion, each said radio blockfacilitating transmission of its associated communication information onthe physical radio channel; said physical layer portion including aplurality of individually configurable transport channels coupledbetween said radio block port and said higher layer portion forinterfacing between said radio block port and said higher layer portion,said transport channels collectively operable for one of producing saidradio blocks in response to the associated communication information andextracting the associated communication information from said radioblocks, each of said transport channels including a configuration inputfor receiving transport format information associated with a currentradio block of said sequence, said transport format informationindicative of how the associated transport channel is to be configuredwith respect to said current radio block; said physical layer portionincluding a transport format information source coupled to saidconfiguration inputs of said transport channels for providing, inconjunction with the current radio block, a current transport formatcombination including the transport format information associated witheach of the respective transport channels, said transport formatinformation source operable for selecting said current transport formatcombination from among a plurality of transport format combinations,said transport format information source including an assemblingapparatus having an input for receiving combination descriptorinformation, said assembling apparatus responsive to said combinationdescriptor information for assembling said plurality of transport formatcombinations; and said physical layer portion including a descriptorinformation source coupled to said input of said assembling apparatusfor providing said combination descriptor information to said assemblingapparatus, said description information source having an input coupledto said higher layer portion for receiving therefrom informationindicative of a service request initiated by a communication network,said descriptor information source responsive to said service requestinformation for producing said combination descriptor information. 28.The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said communication informationincludes speech information.
 29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein saidhigher layer portion includes an RRC layer, said description informationsource input coupled to said RRC layer for receiving said servicerequest therefrom.
 30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein thecommunication network is a PLMN.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, whereinthe service request is initiated by a 2G core network of the PLMN. 32.The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the 2G core network is a GSM network.33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said radio blocks are GERAN radioblocks.
 34. The apparatus of claim 27, provided in one of a mobilecommunication station and a fixed communication station.
 35. Theapparatus of claim 34, wherein the fixed communication station isprovided in a radio access network of a PLMN.
 36. The apparatus of claim27, wherein said descriptor information source includes a look-up tablehaving combination descriptor information stored therein and indexedagainst a plurality of possible service requests which can be indicatedby said service request information at said descriptor informationsource input.
 37. A method of supporting radio communication,comprising: interfacing in a physical layer between communicationinformation associated with operations of a higher layer and radioblocks that each include some of said communication information, eachsaid radio block facilitating transmission of its associatedcommunication information on a physical radio channel; said interfacingstep including one of producing said radio blocks in response to theassociated communication information and extracting the associatedcommunication information from said radio blocks; said producing stepincluding specifying a plurality of encoding operations and applyingsaid encoding operations respectively to portions of said communicationinformation associated with a current radio block, and performing one ofa data puncturing operation and a data repeating operation incooperation with at least one of said encoding operations; and saidextracting step including specifying a plurality of decoding operationsand applying said decoding operations respectively to portions of acurrent radio block, and performing one of a data puncturing operationand a data repeating operation in cooperation with at least one of saiddecoding operations.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein said step ofperforming a data puncturing operation includes receiving a block of Nbits, and puncturing the block to contain M bits by puncturing bits atpositions J within the block, wherein J=floor(I*N/(N−M)) for I=0, . . .N−M−1.
 39. The method of claim 37, wherein said step of performing adata repeating operation includes receiving a block of N bits, andrepeating the block to contain O bits by repeating bits at positions Jwithin the block, wherein J=floor(I*N/(O−N)) for I=0, . . . , O−N−1. 40.The method of claim 37, wherein each of said applying steps includesimplementing a convolutional code technique.
 41. The method of claim 37,wherein said radio blocks are GERAN radio blocks.
 42. The method ofclaim 37, wherein said communication information includes speechinformation.
 43. The method of claim 37, wherein said interfacing stepincludes both said producing step and said extracting step.
 44. A methodof supporting radio communication, comprising: interfacing in a physicallayer between communication information associated with operations of ahigher layer and radio blocks that each include some of saidcommunication information, each said radio block facilitatingtransmission of its associated communication information on a physicalradio channel; said interfacing step including one of producing saidradio blocks in response to the associated communication information andextracting the associated communication information from said radioblocks; said producing step including specifying a first plurality ofproduction processing operations, and applying said productionprocessing operations respectively to portions of said communicationinformation associated with a current radio block; said extracting stepincluding specifying a second plurality of extraction processingoperations, and applying said extraction processing operationsrespectively to portions of a current radio block; each of saidspecifying steps including providing control information that specifiesthe processing operations of the associated one of said first and secondpluralities; said control information providing step includingproducing, for each processing operation of the associated plurality,first control information and second control information, wherein saidfirst control information specifies the associated processing operationwhen a first modulation type is used for transmission of the currentradio block on the physical radio channel, and wherein said secondcontrol information specifies the associated processing operation when asecond modulation type is used for transmission of the current radioblock on the physical radio channel; and each of said specifying stepsincluding, for each processing operation of the associated plurality,using either one of the corresponding first control information and thecorresponding second control information to specify the processingoperation.
 45. The method of claim 44, wherein one of said modulationtypes is GMSK modulation.
 46. The method of claim 44, wherein one ofsaid modulation types is PSK modulation.
 47. The method of claim46,wherein the other of said modulation types is GMSK modulation. 48.The method of claim 44, wherein said radio blocks are GERAN radioblocks.
 49. The method of claim 44, wherein said communicationinformation is speech information.
 50. The method of claim 44, whereinsaid interfacing step includes both said producing step and saidextracting step.
 51. A method of supporting radio communication,comprising: interfacing in a physical layer between communicationinformation associated with operations of a higher layer and radioblocks that each include some of said communication information, eachsaid radio block facilitating transmission of its associatedcommunication information on a physical radio channel; said interfacingstep including one of producing said radio blocks in response to theassociated communication information and extracting the associatedcommunication information from said radio blocks; said producing stepincluding specifying a first plurality of production processingoperations, and applying said production processing operationsrespectively to portions of said communication information associatedwith a current radio block; said extracting step including specifying asecond plurality of extraction processing operations, and applying saidextraction processing operations respectively to portions of a currentradio block; each of said specifying steps including providing a currentcontrol information combination that includes control informationportions which respectively specify the processing operations of theassociated one of said first and second pluralities; said providing stepincluding selecting the current control information combination fromamong a plurality of control information combinations; assembling saidplurality of control information combinations in response to combinationdescriptor information; in the physical layer, receiving from a higherlayer information indicative of a service request initiated by acommunication network; and producing said combination descriptorinformation in response to said service request information.
 52. Themethod of claim 51, wherein said communication information includesspeech information.
 53. The method of claim 51, wherein said receivingstep includes receiving the service request information from an RRClayer.
 54. The method of claim 51, wherein the communication network isa PLMN.
 55. The method of claim 54, wherein the communication network isa 2G core network of the PLMN.
 56. The method of claim 55, wherein the2G core network is a GSM network.
 57. The method of claim 51, whereinsaid radio blocks are GERAN radio blocks.
 58. The method of claim 51,wherein said step of producing combination descriptor informationincludes using the service request information to access an entry in alook-up table.